Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Sakawa River plume in Sagami Bay, Japan under weak wind condition: numerical simulation of coastal ocean dynamics and in situ observations for validation

Researchers developed a numerical coastal ocean dynamics model for the Sakawa River plume in Sagami Bay, Japan, validating it against in situ thermohaline measurements and deriving regression equations to estimate river plume length from water levels and discharge rates.

2024 Journal of Marine Science and Technology
Article Tier 2

A Lagrangian Model for Microplastics Transport in Rivers

Researchers developed a Lagrangian computational model to simulate how microplastics are transported through river systems, accounting for particle buoyancy, turbulence, and settling behavior. The model provides a tool for predicting microplastic fate and accumulation in freshwater environments.

2024 Jornadas de jóvenes investigadores del I3A
Article Tier 2

Modelling Microplastic Transport in River Systems Using the SWAT Hydrological Model

Researchers developed a novel modelling approach using the SWAT hydrological model to simulate microplastic transport through river basin systems, integrating hydrological and physical plastic properties. The model provides a tool for understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of freshwater microplastic pollution to support mitigation planning.

2025 Natural and Engineering Sciences
Article Tier 2

A numerical model of microplastic transport for fluvial systems

Researchers developed a reduced-complexity numerical model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition in fluvial systems, applying it to the river Têt in France and finding that a large proportion of microplastics become entrained in river sediments before reaching the ocean.

2024
Article Tier 2

A numerical model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition for fluvial systems

Researchers developed a numerical model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition in river systems, finding that rivers act as temporary sinks trapping significant fractions of MPs before they reach the ocean, with implications for estimating marine MP loading from terrestrial sources.

2025 Earth Surface Dynamics 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Simulation of Water Quality in a River Network with Time-Varying Lateral Inflows and Pollutants

Researchers improved a mathematical model for non-point source pollutant transport in urban river networks by converting the lateral outflow term in the Saint-Venant equations from a constant to a time-varying flow process with linear increase and exponential decay. Applied to Maozhou River Basin, the improved model achieved NSE values of 0.805 and 0.851 for hydrodynamic and water quality simulation, respectively.

2023 Water 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the Sensitivity of Microplastic Accumulation Zones in Rivers Using High-Performance Particle Transport Modelling

Researchers applied high-performance particle transport modelling to explore the sensitivity of microplastic accumulation zones in rivers, identifying key hydrodynamic factors that govern where microplastics concentrate. The modelling approach provides a tool for predicting hotspot areas of microplastic deposition in fluvial environments.

2025
Article Tier 2

Modeling Microplastic and Solute Transport in Vegetated Flows

Researchers developed a hydrodynamic model for microplastic transport over submerged vegetation canopies, finding that microplastics exhibited higher longitudinal dispersion than dissolved solutes and that canopy height significantly influenced mixing and transport processes.

2023 Water Resources Research 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Basin-Scale Pollution Loads Analyzed Based on Coupled Empirical Models and Numerical Models

This study used a combination of field measurements and computer models to quantify pollutant loads from different sources across a Chinese river basin. Better tools for tracking pollution sources at basin scale can support efforts to reduce microplastic and other contaminant inputs to waterways.

2021 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 8 citations
Article Tier 2

A novel Eulerian-Lagrangian numerical framework to investigate microplastic transport at surface water-sediment interfaces.

Scientists created a computer model to study how tiny plastic particles (microplastics) move through riverbeds and get trapped in underwater sediments. The research found that these plastic particles mostly get stuck in shallow layers of riverbeds, especially on the upstream side of underwater hills and ridges. This matters because riverbeds act like filters that collect microplastics from our water systems, which helps us understand where these pollutants end up and how they might affect drinking water and aquatic life.

2026
Article Tier 2

From Grains to Plastics: Modeling Nourishment Patterns and Hydraulic Sorting of Fluvially Transported Materials in Deltas

Researchers developed a novel modelling framework to simulate how fluvially transported materials including sediment and plastic contaminants are partitioned and hydraulically sorted across river delta environments. The model addressed the challenge that non-water materials are not uniformly distributed in the water column and may follow characteristic transport pathways distinct from mean flow, improving predictions of microplastic fate in deltaic systems.

2022 Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface 9 citations
Article Tier 2

A numerical model of microplastic transport for fluvial systems in the land-sea continuum

A reduced-complexity numerical model was developed to simulate how microplastics erode, transport, and deposit through river systems, applied to the Têt River in France. The model successfully reproduced observed microplastic fluxes and reveals that rivers likely act as significant reservoirs trapping plastic on its journey from land sources to the ocean, suggesting current estimates of marine microplastic inputs may be underestimates.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Dispersal and transport of microplastic particles under different flow conditions in riverine ecosystem

Researchers developed a particle-tracking model combined with hydrodynamic simulation to study how microplastics travel through river systems under different water flow conditions. They found that flow speed, turbulence, and river channel features significantly influence where microplastics accumulate and how far they travel. The study provides a useful tool for predicting microplastic transport patterns and identifying pollution hotspots in river ecosystems.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 80 citations
Article Tier 2

A particle tracking model approach to determine the dispersal of riverine plastic debris released into the Indian Ocean

Researchers developed a particle tracking model to simulate the dispersal of riverine plastic debris released into the Indian Ocean from surrounding landmasses. The study found that plastic accumulation on beaches peaked during monsoon seasons, with ocean currents, wind, and wave action driving distinct transport patterns, providing valuable data for identifying high-risk coastal areas and informing cleanup strategies.

2024 Marine Pollution Bulletin 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Modeling the transport of microplastics along river networks

Researchers built a mathematical model to predict how microplastics travel through river networks, combining water flow dynamics with estimates of human plastic inputs. They tested the model against real-world data from three river systems worldwide and found it reliably predicted microplastic concentrations. The tool could help identify pollution hotspots and guide cleanup priorities across entire river basins.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic transport in European river networks

Researchers estimated the average annual load of microplastics transported to seas and oceans from 125 European catchments by coupling a mass balance model with a graph-theory river network model incorporating wastewater treatment plant effluents, surface runoff, and combined sewer overflows.

2024
Article Tier 2

Advancements in numerical simulation of microplastics transport in open waters: Model enhancements and sensitivity analyses of boundary conditions and settling velocities

Researchers updated a three-dimensional particle tracking model for simulating microplastic transport in marine and riverine environments, adding free-slip boundary conditions, settling and resuspension mechanics, and turbulent diffusion, then validated the model against field data from the Ottawa River and Saguenay Fjord.

2026 The Science of The Total Environment
Article Tier 2

Limited role of discharge in global river plastic transport

A new modeling framework proposes that riverine plastic transport is driven primarily by plastic availability in the catchment rather than river discharge, challenging the assumption that high-flow events are the main driver of plastic export to the ocean.

2024 4 citations
Article Tier 2

The dynamics of microplastics and associated contaminants: Data-driven Lagrangian and Eulerian modelling approaches in the Mediterranean Sea

Researchers compared Lagrangian and Eulerian data-driven modelling approaches to simulate microplastic dispersal and associated organic pollutant transport in the Mediterranean Sea, finding that adsorption-desorption dynamics between microplastics and hydrophobic contaminants must be coupled for accurate pollution assessment.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 44 citations
Article Tier 2

On modeling the fate of microplastics along river networks

Researchers developed and applied a modeling framework to simulate the fate and transport of microplastics along river network systems, treating rivers as key conduits transferring land-based microplastic pollution to marine environments. The model accounted for particle ingestion risks to aquatic organisms and evaluated the long-term persistence and transport dynamics of microplastics across freshwater networks.

2022
Article Tier 2

Nehirlerde Mikroplastik Kirliliği ve Hidrodinamik Modellenmesi

This Turkish-language review covers microplastic pollution in rivers, including sources, transport mechanisms, and hydrodynamic modeling approaches. Rivers are the primary pathway by which microplastics move from land-based sources to the ocean.

2021 European Journal of Science and Technology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantifying the environmental impact of pollutant plumes from coastal rivers with remote sensing and river basin modelling

Researchers combined satellite remote sensing with river basin modeling to track pollution plumes from four coastal rivers in Italy, measuring their size, timing, and pollutant loads. The method can estimate how much contamination comes from rainfall runoff versus wastewater discharge, helping managers better understand and address coastal pollution threats.

2016 International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning 20 citations
Article Tier 2

High Spatiotemporal Model-Based Tracking and Environmental Risk-Exposure of Wastewater-Derived Pharmaceuticals across River Networks in Saxony, Germany

This is an environmental engineering study modeling how pharmaceuticals from wastewater treatment plants travel through river networks in Saxony, Germany; it is not a microplastics research paper.

2023 Water 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Bedload transport rates of microplastics on natural sediments under open channel flow: The role of exposure in acceleration

Researchers developed a new model for predicting how microplastics are transported as bedload in rivers, combining computational fluid dynamics with laboratory experiments. They found that exposed microplastics on the sediment surface move at higher transport rates than natural sediment particles of similar size, potentially spreading contamination over wider areas. The model provides a practical tool for engineers assessing how microplastic pollution disperses through waterway systems.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations